I have returned!

Oh my great goodness! The Du Toits have returned from the beach. I have so much to say about said trip, but I also have a plethora of pictures, so I shall blog through pictures first, then I'll fill in with words later.
    Firstly, I give you a brief peek into Noah's very first experience at the beach:

 Oh friends, it was joyous! Noah seriously took to the beach like a fish to water. No seriously; Stephan, myself, my mom, my dad, whoever was holding Noah in the water had to be careful, because that kid would try his hardest to dive head first into the waves. Not only did he enjoy the water, (except for when it got into his eyes) he loved the sand!

he rarely went down to the beach without his shovel.

 If he wasn't trying to swim with the dolphins, he was digging a hole or destroying any attempt at a sandcastle we made. At one point, Stephan had Noah buried up to his waist in sand, and the kid loved it. I would cover his feet in sand and say, "where'd your foot go?" and he would shrug his shoulders and then wiggle his foot free and laugh. Then he would want me to do it again.

This outfit meant that mommy wasted a little bit less time slathering on sunblock.

Of course, the one thing we forgot was the portable high chair. Noah ate on phone books.

There was lots of down time. Notice my father out cold in the recliner.

Noah loved sitting at the table like a big boy.

He wouldn't really focus on his eating so much. He was having to much fun!

this was before Stephan got a stomach virus.

Noah had lots of toys. If he wasn't outside, he was having fun playing inside.

Handsome happy boy!

We watched his favorite movie every once in a while.

 On Wednesday night, after Stephan had been laid up with a nasty bug for a bit, the family went to Lulu's Seafood restaurant. It's a big place with a neat ambiance going on. There was live music for the first half of our meal that was really loud. At first, Noah didn't want to get out of his father's lap, but then he got pretty into the music and swayed to the music in his high chair. For a big tourist attraction, the food was overpriced and only average. 

My unwashed-ness is detracting from the cuteness of this family picture.

 

    I had fun and got some sun. Noah had loads of fun and did pretty well in the car ride there and back. Stephan enjoyed Saturday through Monday, then spent Tuesday and Wednesday in bed. I took more pictures, and I'm sure there are more stories to tell about our first family trip to the beach, but it's almost 10 and we spent all morning in the car and the rest of the day unpacking and straightening up the house, so I'm going to bed.
    Witten says hi, by the way. He grew a lot while we were at the beach and he moves so much. I love being with child!
     May God bless you all, my friends!